British Birds
Pepys “British Birds” card game with colour pictures, c.1968.
Pepys “British Birds” collecting card game with colour pictures that can be used to identify birds, first published in 1968. See the box►
Above: Pepys “British Birds” card game with colour pictures, first published in 1968 but still on sale today.
By Matt Probert
Member since March 02, 2012
View ArticlesI have adored playing cards since before I was seven years old, and was brought up on packs of Waddington's No 1. As a child I was fascinated by the pictures of the court cards.
Over the next fifty years I was seduced by the artwork in Piatnik's packs and became a collector of playing cards.
Seeking more information about various unidentified packs I discovered the World of Playing Cards website and became an enthusiastic contributor researching and documenting different packs of cards.
I describe my self as a playing card archaeologist, using detective work to identify and date obscure packs of cards discovered in old houses, flea markets and car boot sales.
Leave a Reply
Recommended
Souvenir Views of Scotland Playing Cards
52 selected views of Scotland by De La Rue (Waddingtons) for GlenAlan Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland, c.1960s.
The Jovial Cards
Publicity items for a group of entertainers, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK, 1911.
Waddington’s “Silkette” Playing Cards
Cards made by John Waddington Ltd. for the Madras Club, Chennai (formerly Madras), India, c.1930.
Highland Hospice
54 different personalities from the city of Inverness published by the Highland Hospice.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme covers from 1956 to 2016 published by Winning Moves UK Ltd.
Cape Wrath
Images from the Ministry of Defence Cape Wrath Training Centre, Sutherland, Scotland. Published 2010.
Vesalius Anatomy Card Game
Celebrating the work of Andreas Vesalius in the quincentenary year of his birth.
Team GB
Great Britains’s Olympic gold medallists from 1964 to 2004 published by the British Olympic Association.
David Kindersley Centenary
Celebration of the work of David Kindersley, stone letter-carver and typeface designer. Published by the Cardozo Kindersley Workshop, Cambridge, UK, 2015.
Official England Rugby Playing Cards
Pack celebrating the rugby world champions of 2003. Produced by MMcardz.
Wink Playing Cards
A pack of 53 temporary tattoo designs published by Wink, Riga, Latvia, c.2017.
Royal Cards Reign of Queen Anne
“Royal Cards Reign of Queen Anne” cover historical events, both honourable and treacherous, during the period 1702 to 1704.
Hall & Son
Hall & Son
Black Peter
Two Black Peter games by Willy Mayrl published by Ferd Piatnik & Söhne, 1950s.
Fortune-Telling Cards
Comic Fortune-Telling Cards published by Reynolds & Sons, c.1850.
Comic Question & Answer cards
Comic Question & Answer cards by Josh. Reynolds & Sons, circa 1850.
Myriorama
Myriorama of Italian scenery, 1824.
Transformation Cards for Christmas
Hand-drawn Transformation cards, c.1870.
PLAYING CARDS: A Secret History
PLAYING CARDS: A Secret History
Sergeant-Major
Sergeant-Major card game devised by W.G.Smith
Rex Pitts (1940-2021)
We are deeply saddened by news of the passing of Anthony Rex Pitts (1940-2021).
Pepys Games
The Story of Pepys Games by Rex Pitts
J. W. Spear and Sons
Jacob Wolfe Spear founded his company manufacturing fancy goods in 1879 near Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany
Chad Valley Co. Ltd
Chad Valley Co. Ltd (incorporating Johnson Brothers (Harborne) Ltd, the long-established UK brand bought by Woolworths in 1988 and now sold at Argos.
Multum in Parvo Co., Ltd
Multum in Parvo published a range of indoor games during the period from 1884-1927.
Ariel Productions Ltd
The founder of Ariel Productions, Philip Marx, was a prolific publisher of children’s books and comics towards the end of and just after the Second World War.
Kum-Bak Sports, Toys & Games
Kum-Bak Sports, Toys & Games MFG Co., Ltd, London S.E.11
Crazy People
Crazy People children’s card game illustrated by caricaturist and graphic artist Walter Trier, c.1950.
Andere Zeiten - Andere Kleider
‘History of fashion’ cultural quartet game designed by Erika Werner-Nestler, 1954.
Netherlands Kostuum Kwartet
Dutch costumes quartet game designed by Gerard Huijg, 1983.
Panko
Panko (Votes for Women) suffragette card game published by Peter Gurney Ltd, c.1912.
Snap
Anonymous Snap game, 1930s.
Nederlands Stedenkwartet
Nederlands Stedenkwartet with heraldic needlepoint patterns by Permin, c.1970.
Lion Coffee
Lion Coffee Mother Goose card game, late 19th C.
Panto People
Panto People published by E. S. & A. Robinson, c.1930s.
Hats-Off!
Hats-Off! miniature card game published by E. S. & A. Robinson, c.1930s.
Zoo-Boots
Zoo-Boots published by E. S. & A. Robinson, c.1930s.
XIXth Century
The XIXth Century published by John Jaques & Son, c.1875.
The ‘Rinker’ Snap
The ‘Rinker’ highly amusing snap game, c.1910.
Österreichisches Trachten-quartett
Österreichisches Trachten-quartett Nr.282 published by Ferd Piatnik & Söhne.